Former Romney Adviser: Blind Devotion To Tax Cuts Hurt Republicans In The Election

Former Mitt Romney adviser Dan Senor conceded that in the aftermath of President Obama’s re-election, Republicans can’t start every economic debate insisting on lower tax rates and must do a “better job of thinking through how to talk about middle class economics.”

“We have to spend meaningful time over the next several years developing a policy agenda that reflects our principles but is modernized,” he said during an appearance Wednesday on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. “Unless we address the core issue of middle class economics with innovative ideas,” Republicans will continue to struggle in future elections. Watch it:

Senor also agreed that Republicans must tackle immigration reform, arguing that the party “has been suffering on the issue of immigration for years.” “I think the problem transcends Mitt Romney. I don’t think his position helped the Republcian problem, but I think it predates him.”

Since the election, several prominent Republicans have called on the GOP to lead on the issue, though they remain split on whether to tackle the problem in a single comprehensive reform or piecemeal.

Election exit polls also showed that voters rejected the GOP’s main economic argument — their insistance that the nation should not raise taxes on the richest Americans. “Almost half of voters said taxes should be boosted on Americans making more than $250,000 per year, and one in seven voters said taxes should be increased on all Americans.”